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| Amichai Chikli (JTA) |
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets Saturday evening to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government that opponents say threaten democracy and freedoms.
The protesters gathered in the central city of Tel Aviv days after the most right-wing and religiously conservative government in the country’s 74-year history was sworn in…
The protest was led by left-wing and Arab members of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
The claim is that under the new government, Israel will cease to be a Democracy - replaced by a theocracy composed of Charedim and Religious Zionists.
Does this demonstration reflect the national consensus? I honestly don’t know. But my guess is that a demonstration led by the Arab and leftist members of the K’nesset in no way represents the views of Israeli electorate.
A far better measure of what the Israeli electorate wants is in who they voted for. Which is for the most right wing government in Israel’s history. That most Israelis are not Orthodox (80% - ?) and yet voted for parties whose leadership are Orthodox Jews says a lot more than does a demonstration by a few thousand leftist Israeli voters. Although those demonstrators probably do represent a sizeable minority - probably close to half the electorate.
The question is an old one. Can Israel be both a Jewish state and a democracy? I think it depends on how Judaism is defined. If it is defined the way I do, than what defines us is how the Torah defines us. We are chosen by God to serve Him in the manner which His Torah directs us. The Torah is the word of God as it applies to the Jewish people. To the extent that we abandon his laws is to the extent that defy that definition.
If that is the case, Where does democracy come in? Well the Torah does include democratic principles within the confines of Halacha (the details of which are way beyond the scope of this post). But as classically defined, it cannot be described that way. Obviously.
If that is the case, do we have to choose between a theocracy and democracy? In theory one would have to say yes. But in reality, we cannot make Israel a fully Halachic state or a fully democratic state. The best we can hope for is a compromise where each side gets something - but no one gets everything. That is what the status quo agreement at the founding of the state was all about. And it has more or less worked pretty well thus far.
The fear by the left is that with the religious parties being such a big portion of the government, it will become a theocracy that will rival Iran. And that draconian new religious requirementswill be imposed upon the secular public.
That is an understandable fear but it is not a realistic one. That reassurance has already been made in a public statement by one Israel’s religious leader. He said that no one will be coerced to observe nay Mitzvos. The new government did however say that religious sensibilities that have been under attack by the secular left will now be respected. For example Israel will be setting aside a few small beaches as gender separated ones while leaving the vast majority of them mixed gender – as they have always been. I believe that is a far compromise. The idea of not allowing any beach to be gender segregated as a matter of discrimination is an egalitarian ideal the is disdainful of religious sensibilities and will no longer be tolerated.
The problem is that the mainstream secular Jewish media seems to be leading the charge - doing everything in its power to cast the new government in the worst possible light. As does the following example in a recent JTA headline:
Meet Amichai Chikli, Israel’s new Diaspora minister, who opposes BDS and Reform Judaism
It is not Reform Jews that he opposes. It is Reform Judaism. Which deserves to be opposed. It is as false an interpretation of Judaism as was the Sadducee interpreation of Judaism was over 2000years ago. In fact it is worse. Instead of just rejecting laws enacted by the rabbis - Reform rejects all of the Torah’s laws. Not just the rabbinic ones.
American Jews were that were raised with these values cannot be blamed for not undetstanding the mandatory nature of Halacha. The Ten commandments were not ten suggestions.
In explanation of his comment, Chikli goes on to suggest that many Reform Jews tend to sympathize with BDS supporters They i n fact do deserve to be opposed.
That being said, It serves no constructive purpose to single out Reform Jews.. That alienates all of them. Even those tat do not support BDS. He should have just stuck to opposing Jews that support BDS without regard to which denomination they belong. That just common sense. Something that I fear may be missing among some of the new government ministers.
This is not the first rime the leftist secular media has screamed bloody murder about new government. - about much potential damage it will do to Israel’s democratic principles. I understand the fear. But jumping the gun is journalistically irresponsible.
Which is why I continue to say to my friends on the left, ‘Give the new government a chance to implement their polices - and see if they do indeed impinge on the freedoms guaranteed by a democracy’.
Yes, it is a right wing government. No question about that. And yes religious sensibilities will be honored more that they have been in the past. But I do not see secular Jews needing to change their lifestyle because of that. I believe the status quo will continue to be honored.
Let us all step back, take a deep breath, and wait to see what the new government will do. The cultural differences between secular and religious Jews need not end up in a war. Let us see what develops and hope that we can all just get along and live our lives the way we all wish.
